Kumihimo Patterns, Tips, New Stuff

Greetings! After almost 3 weeks of cold and rain, we are finally seeing some sunshine and some warmth. The plus side is that Mother Nature naturally watered our trees and they are looking so beautiful. Last fall we planted a few Aspens and Maples and it is with excited anticipation that, with morning coffee in hand, I meander through my yard in awe of the new growth. Fascinating. Perhaps I will be a gardener in my next life.

The June Kit of the Month is the Kumihimo Beaded Necklace with Glass Teardrops. It comes in four great colorways. My mom is hinting at the Teal with the Geometric patterned Teardrops!

I will be out of town for a week starting July 7th and returning the 12th. I will be teaching a 2-day Kumihimo workshop called the "Many Faces of the Kongoh Gumi" at the Convergence Conference in Reno, Nevada. I am really looking forward to it.

A warm welcome to all of What a Braid's new subscribers and customers and a heartfelt thanks to everyone else! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your notes and kind words. If you could only see the smile they put on my face. Thanks.

Happy Braiding,

karen@whataknit.com

530-448-3624

June Kit of the Month! Teardrop Fringe Necklace

June's featured kit is the Kumihimo Beaded Teardrop Fringe Necklace kit. There are 4 color ways and each necklace is a unique

combination of colors and each is special in its own way. The necklace can be worn as short as 17 3/4" and as long as 21 3/4" depending where you position the acrylic magnetic end clasp.

The Rainbow Teal with Geometric Teal Teardrops is shimmering blends of blues and greens.

The Picasso with Bronze Teardrops is an earthy combinati on of Picasso Seed Beads and lustrous Bronze teardrops.

The Matte Cobalt Luster with Etched Teardrops is very rich. Depending on the lighting, the Etched Teardrops have a luminous colorful glow!

The Colorblock Swirl with Black Teardrops is classy. This one is a beauty and it takes caution and care to get all the beads loaded correctly!

Kit Includes:

1 Spool C-Lon BeadCord
3 or 4 colors 8/o Toho / Miyuki Seed Beads
1 color 6/o Toho / Miyuki Seed beads (except Colorblock Swirl colorway)
17 Glass Teardrops
Wide Eye Needle
4mm Acrylic Magnetic Glue-in Clasp
Instructions

Cost $42 -$44 (4 color ways)

Click here to see the Kumihimo Beaded Teardrop Fringe Necklace Kit

Fort Bragg Kumihimo Workshop

Thank you to Pacific Textile Arts for inviting me to come to Fort Bragg to teach a 3-day Kumihimo Workshop. PTA offers a wonderful selection of classes. Check out the Pacific Textile Arts website.

Ten of us gathered for three days and braided in the lovely setting of Jackie Wollenberg's Henhouse Studio located in Fort Bragg (northern coast of California). The Henhouse Studio has been the home of countless workshops over the decades and the place is all about getting your "creative on". Thank you Jackie!

The goal was to Braid 3 Projects in 3 Days and we did just that. The first class was the Split Braid Necklace, the second class was a Continuous Pattern with Seamless Color Change Bracelet and the third day concluded with an All-Beaded Bracelet. While both the Marudai and foam disk were used, the emphasis was on using the foam disk and the class learned a great respect for this simple tool. I also brought my Core Stand for additional exposure, experimenting and fun!

We dined out each evening as a group and had alot of fun getting to know each other. The camaraderie was heart warming. I have absolute gratitude for having had the opportunity to work with such a great group. Thanks Ladies!

Keep your eyes open for a possible September Kumihimo Workshop in Truckee, California.

MORE in Stock - Don't Wait - Order NOW!

If you missed out last month, you have another chance. The May Kit of the Month was the Kumihimo Beaded Necklace with a Handpainted Porcelain Pendant and the Adjustable Closure. This necklace kit is truly quick and easy. The beads are quick to load and if you have a Bead Spinner the bead loading process is very fast! The beaded design is an overall pattern with one Main Color and 3 Accent colors. The Porcelain Pendant measures 1 3/4" x 1". The adjustable closure, which I have been using for several years in alot of my kits, allows you to wear the necklace as short as you like or as long as 26" or so (depending on braider). This is a great feature when you are selling jewelry and don't know how long to make a piece.

Kit Includes:

1 Spool C-Lon BeadCord

4 colors 8/o Toho and/or Miyuki Seed Beads
1 Hand-painted Porcelain Pendant
2 Porcelain Pony Beads
1 Porcelain Cheerio Bead
Wide Eye Needle
Barrel Bead for Adjustable Closure
Instructions

Cost $42 (3 color ways)

Click here to see the Kumihimo Beaded Necklace with Handpainted Porcelain Pendant Kit

Northern California Kumihimo Study Group


Diana Shiraishi having fun!

Last Saturday I joined the Northern California Kumihimo Study Group that met at Diana Shiraishi's house. It was a great meeting and we did alot of braiding.

The Kusari-tsunagi braid was the braid of c hoice for the group study. It is an 8-strand braid and depending on your reference material, it can be called: Kusari-tsunagi (Makiko Tada, Comprehensive Treatise of Braids I) or 8A (Jacqui Carey, Creative Kumihimo).

In addition to creating the braid, we were also embellishing the braid with d rop beads and some of the results were quite nice. Diana also tried a continuous bead Kusari-tsunagi.


	Sharon Gardner's Kusari-tsunagi with edge beads.


Diana's Samples for the Study Group

For anyone that might be interested in the Northern California Kumihimo Study Group, check out their Facebook page for more details. If you want to grow your Kumihmo skills, working with a group like this can really be a boost.

My Fun with the Kusari-tsunagi Braid Structure

I found some of my necklace samples (right) that I had made previously with the Kusari-tsunagi braid structure using Kumihimo Rayon Gimp with 6/o se ed beads.

Below, is a Kusari-tsunagi bracelet where I used a combination of Petite Satin and Kumihimo Rayon Ribbon and added the bead s in "clusters" and made a wrap-a-round bracelet!

I also made a Kusari-tsunagi multi-strand bracelet using Shimmer.

The fun is in the creating and trying new things can be very rewarding!

A Rainbow of Drop Beads

After my day with the Northern California Kumistas, I was excited to get to my workshop to look through my Drop Beads. My wheels are spinning now with ideas of new creations.

I have some wonderful colors to choose from. The drops pictured above are 6mm top-drilled beads. They come 25 beads/strand for $2.50. I think the top-drilled style of bead may lie very nicely on the edge of a Kusari-tsunagi braid!

New Tassel Beads - Get Creative!

Wow! Aren't these fun beads? The first thing that comes to mind is that they could be quite nice on the end of a long beaded rope. What a great tassel, eh?

DIMENSIONS:

Length: 2 3/8"

Width: 3/4"

Weight 15 grams

Cost $3.00/each

Click here for Tassel Beads.

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